Screen doors have been used throughout the years, primarily in residential building, to permit outside air to freely move into a dwelling but prevent ingress of insects into the dwelling. Typically, screen doors, as conventional doors, are of the hinged variety. While screen doors can be used effectively on back door and side door openings of houses, their use in front door openings is frowned upon primarily because they obscure the front door itself from view. In this regard, it is to be noted that an aesthetically pleasing front door is desired since it enhances the first impression of a dwelling. Accordingly, for the most part screen doors are generally not used over front door openings. This is undesirable since there are times during pleasant weather or when it is desired to air out a house to open all of the doors and windows. The normal absence of a screen door over the front door opening, however, generally means that the front door is not opened so as to keep out insects and the like.
Retractable screens or covering assemblies for a door opening are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,651,797; 4,821,786; and 4,825,921.